Miscellaneous
Let there be light
Who’s afraid of the dark? Or rather who does not have the fear of facing the star-lit night, staring at them in deafening silence in the midst of their utter loneliness? The breeze caressing one’s shin like a cat brushing past with its fluffy tail, the wind howling, two shiny eyes fixing a gaze on you.Mohan Guragain
Who’s afraid of the dark? Or rather who does not have the fear of facing the star-lit night, staring at them in deafening silence in the midst of their utter loneliness? The breeze caressing one’s shin like a cat brushing past with its fluffy tail, the wind howling, two shiny eyes fixing a gaze on you.
It’s only natural that darkness scares most of us. But, strangely, it appears even the government is afraid of the dark! As a young kid, I thought the king had no fears: he could jump down terraces I did not have the courage to. He could climb up trees that I felt dizzy even at the thought of scaling. (Sadly, our king failed to save himself, let alone defend his people.) The sarkar could build roads everywhere he liked! It could lighten up villages by tapping water that flowed aimlessly at the foothills.
But the government is afraid of the dark. Were it not, why would it have to shut pubs before midnight? Why would the night market at Chabahil be banned? Why should the late evening bus service have been so short-lived?
The city loses its metropolitan character when it asks citizens to go to bed early, when it threatens to control their dosage of booze.
But you don’t have to do much to fight darkness. It suffices to light a little candle, or to illuminate a bulb in the modern sense. Luckily, not all things are done wrong in our chaotic Capital. Not everything goes down the gutter like the asphalt that is washed before it is pressed onto the pothole as our civil servants rush to fix roads—and fill their pockets—when monsoon approaches. One or two things are still alright, one or two officials still hold their head high. The Nepal Electricity Authority chief Kulman Ghising shone a spotlight on the shoddy business that thrived in darkness—selling inverters when power supply tripped.
One project in particular, irrespective of who conceived it, has the potential to brighten up the city. It instils courage in our women to venture out even after sunlight fades. It could embolden our youths to walk home long after drivers garage public vehicles. That is the power of the glow radiating out of the weak light emitting devices charged by solar panels perched on roadside poles. The project, which is seen ongoing at several places in the core city, recognises the right of pedestrians, not only motorists, over the road.
The other day, I had to carry dinner for my brother receiving care at a hospital not far away from my rented residence. Since I don’t own a motorcycle, I decided to cover the journey on foot both ways. This only confirmed my belief that light can do wonders at night. Illuminated streets may not be easily targeted by burglars. Lit-up roads needn’t be without people. Thus, light could stir life out of slumber, resurrecting the Valley that gasps for lack of activity nearly half the time.
Ever since Kulman Ghising rid most of the country of power cuts, ujjyalo has been the buzzword. It denotes light, hydropower and even the country’s prosperity made possible by power export. Or it might even mean prevalence of common sense over utter foolishness with which our policymakers act, as in cases of freshly finished roads being dug up for utility lines and leaving the whole of the Valley suffocating under a cloud of dust kicked up by vehicles.
Kathmandu elected its mayor 11 weeks ago. For nearly 15 years of the Capital having been without people’s representatives, the unitary state, rather than the local government, drew flak for its malpractices and underdevelopment. With the rhetoric surrounding the elections over, Bidya Sundar Shakya has now got to focus on walking the talk. But he need not build a metro rail to begin the transformation. Lighting up Kathmandu’s streets may be a small step for the Kathmandu Metropolitan City, but it will be a giant leap for the metropolitan’s residents. It has the power to breathe life back into a city that goes to bed at dusk; it has the power to make our streets safe again; the power to get the ball rolling uphill in what has until now just been Sisyphean attempts at transforming this city for good.
Kathmandu is known for its chaos. Ad hoc arrangements have been the norm here. The new mayor may take care of the pennies so that the pound might take care of itself. One of the little things adding colour to city life that calls for mayoral backing is the ongoing street lighting project, which can make roads safer even when there is no policing round the clock and reveal people’s way to happiness. Alongside comes, obviously, the Himalayan task of building, fixing and maintaining road infrastructure to get the city moving. But first, let there be light!
The writer tweets @GuragainMohan